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Startup Weekend Wellington: The Teams

Startup Weekend Wellington is an event like no other. I talk to numerous people about the weekend and the conversation usually goes something like this:

"What is a Startup Weekend?"

"Well, its a weekend for people with burning ideas. It's an event where people challenge themselves to create a business over a weekend."

[...Confused and puzzling stare...]

"Let me explain a little more. People buy tickets to the weekend event. Participants pitch an idea on a Friday evening. Teams then form around the most popular ideas. The newly formed teams spend the rest of the weekend exploring the idea in more detail with the aim of pitching a validated and functional business idea to a Panel of expert judges on the Sunday evening."

"Oh! That is actually pretty cool."

[...Head spinning thoughts; perhaps I'll head along to a weekend, I have ideas, I have skills...]

THE TEAMS (in random order)

local plate (formerly local dish)

Get local. Get fresh. Try new recipes.

The problem:There are a lot of people that go to the produce market and are overwhelmed by the amount of options and produce they’re not familiar with. 50% of consumers come to the market with no recipe in mind and because of this people usually stick to what they know.

The solution:The Farmer’s Bag. This is a produce bag that provides consumers with fresh, seasonal produce and a recipe to create a meal.We have built a mobile website prototype where users can browse our seasonal recipes, select their seasonal Farm Bag and pick up directly from their produce from their favourite weekend produce market.

From the pitch:Why this is different? We have a direct relationship with the vendor, you don’t lose that great weekend market atmosphere.

Our team looks like: Designers, Developers, Business Analysts and Marketers.

“We were surprised and excited by the passionthatWellington’s had for local produce and fresh options.” Farmer Brown

Wafflr (formerly Waffl)

The problem: There is something lacking in the current communication between employees and employers. Emails are not getting read and are not getting actioned.

The solution: We are improving written communication through gamification. We want people to constantly improve the way they communicate. With a scoring system, people can see how well their email is written. The better the content, the higher the score.

stepping stones(formerly Intentional Curiosity)

A social platform for setting intentional goals in a supportive community.

The problem: Taking a holistic view of your life is tricky and tools to help align your short term actions with long term vision are difficult to access and be held accountable on.

The solution: The goal is to get people living their life with more intent. We have created a holistic platform to keep track of your intentional goals. You are accountable to a supportive community, with recognition for achieving your goals.

The pitch: We want to improve peer support during those key transitional moments in life and we have taken a holistic view of a person’s life goals: finances, career, romance, spiritual, health, self-development, recreation, social, family.

Our team looks like: Developer, designer and Subject Expert.

“It’s hard to be holistic, especially when you have an MVP to produce.” Chief Stepper

Meowlist(formerly Meow)

The problem: People browse the internet and create wish-lists. However, all these wish-lists are hosted on different sites and people don’t necessarily remember the item that they want to buy.

The solution: Meow helps users remember the item that they want to buy via a collective wish-list with pricing information. At the same time, Meow, gives online vendors the access, through the app, to the customers who don’t buy at first sight.

Pitch: We want to help you have a collaborative purchasing ‘wish-list’ online, right meow.

rookie

The problem: The impact on a business from hiring the wrong graduate can be the difference between success and failure. Why? It’s risky, expensive, complex and time consuming.

The solution: We minimize the risk of a bad hire. We do this by matching the employer and the graduate. We verify the graduate’s skills. You do the employing.

The pitch: The value actually lies with proving that grads have the skills they say they do. It’s about creating a more valuable recruitment experience, that gets the right person at the end of the day.

Justice Fund

Crowd funding for justice.

The problem: The problem is simple; people have an issue accessing justice. If someone feels really strongly about a legal case, all they can do at the moment (if they don’t have enough money!) is voice their opinion online, with peers or in protest.

The solution: We have created a crowd sourced platform for worthy legal causes. We want to put money to the people’s voice by making sure the public can contribute financially to a cause that they believe in. With our platform they have the assurance that the financial support is directly contributing to the legal battle.

The pitch: Our validation has confirmed; people have a problem accessing justice.

Our team looks like: Lawyers, Developers and Marketers.

“It’s amazing that people can feel so passionate about justice, but at the moment there is no collective and safe way they can act on it.” Justice League Organiser

Open Circle(formerly Take Me Out)

Expanding your social circles.

The problem: You have a day off, you want to hang out with someone, but everyone is busy.

The solution: A hassle free place to find like-minded people. Our app intuitively connects you with people with shared interests. You can post something you want to do and create your own circle (you know, like getting a group together for a round of golf).

The pitch: 66% of our respondents said they would feel comfortable meeting someone new if they had shared interests. The focus is on friendships.

Our team looks like: Designers, Developers and Entrepreneurs.

“Most people think with all the apps out there that the space is covered, but you realise that there are opportunities and it hasn’t all been done before.” Head of the Round Table.

HistoTrack

Tracking your bits

The problem: Samples aren’t getting tracked when they are processed in laboratories. The current software and hardware tracking solutions in histology labs are vendor locked, complicated and they are expensive.

The solution: Software tracking systems that records every step the specimen goes through. The tracking system logs all steps in a central system. Advantage is that Histotrack is not vendor locked and is compatible with all hardware.

The pitch: What if we could apply this solution to third world histology labs where often there is no tracking system at all?

Our team looks like: Developers and a Scientist.

“Making sure that your liver is in the right place.” Chief Organ Tracker

SaleTrail (formerly GeoLead)

We use today’s data to find tomorrow’s customers.

The problem: It is currently expensive to indiscriminately advertise offline to your target audience.

The solution: A prediction tool that enables marketers and SMEs to find their next customer using existing customer data. Our solution will help to bring offline marketing techniques into the 21st century.

The pitch: If you have the addresses for all your customers, we can help you identify new addresses at which you’re most likely to find your next customers.

Our team looks like: Developers, Entrepreneurs and a Communications Expert.

“If you have a smart bunch of people, and you do a bit of research on a promising nugget, there is always an angle you can take. There is always an opportunity to add value.” Trail Runner

uPlanit (formerly PlanetTravel)

Crowd sourcing travel plans.

The problem: Organising and visualising travel plans is hard, it’s stressful and it’s time consuming. Often you have never seen a place before you visit and people struggle to trust the current planning and booking sites.

The solution: We have identified that the thing people found most exciting about their travel planning process was being able to see where they are going. We enable your friends to share tips about your holiday destinations and help add to your itinerary. People also love giving travel advice. Value from both perspectives.

The pitch: uPlanit helps you create a stress free itinerary from the people you know the best. So go on… uPlanit.

Mo’stash

An app for organising your sewing pattern stash

The problem: Have you ever been in a fabric store and you don’t know what and how much fabric to buy?

The solution: We have created a database of sewing patterns, where users can set up their own profile to get a personalised shopping list for making garments. The app prompts you, if you need additional items (for example, zips). It is also a great way to discover cool new sewing patterns.

The pitch: We have found that whilst our target audience is currently beginners, there is also room for providing a service for more experienced garment makers.